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Tropica
Member of the Supermoms, her versatile powers make her one of the main powerhouses of the team. Tropica is a play on different archetypes common in Mexican (and generally Latin American) comics. The Olmec lucha mask is, of course, a tribute to lucha traditions that are often traced to Aztec and pre-Aztec civilizations. Her voluptuous body and skimpy costume are a reference to the fact that curvaceous ladies in sexy costumes have always been quite a common sight in Mexican and other Latin American comics (e.g., compare Mexican Gwen Stacy to her American counterpart), and also to the drawing style of Mexican erotic comic covers. Her fiesty, fiery and flirty personality is a nod to the same Mexican and Latin American comics, where the aforementioned sexy ladies are often given similar character traits. Biography As a young 13 year old girl, Carmen Diego Tropicana Bazaldua decided to explore an old abandoned building. Suddenly, the rotten floorboards gave way, and Carmen fell down into a strange spacious room, with stone walls covered in intricate carvings. As Carmen later found out, the old house was built upon an ancient Olmec pyramid, its existence having been forgotten ages ago by history and lore. The pyramid was dedicated to the goddess Xochiquetzal, and Carmen has fallen down right into her sanctuary. Suddenly the goddess herself appeared in front of the startled girl. At first she was angry at the intrusion into her sacred place, but then she decided on a way Carmen could make up for it. She decided to make the young girl her champion, to fight for happiness and love in her name in the mortal world. Not accepting "no" for an answer, the goddess imbued Carmen with a supernatural power of plant control, and granted her a sacred mask to conceal her mortal identity. Soon, Beverly Brighton's ad caught Carmen's attention, and reasoning that it's more fun championing in a team than alone, she decided to join the Teen Queens under the name "Tropica". After several adventure-filled years the team disbanded, and Carmen started making her own way in the adult life. Some time later, she married a man called Juan Delacruz, and both newlyweds found themselves in search of a job. That's when Carmen got a brilliant idea: why not use her superpowers for the benefit of her new family? She decided to open a florists' shop together, while she could secretly help grow and tend for the plants with her powers. The young woman made a deal with Xochiquetzal: while she doesn't use her powers to fight evil anymore, the shop would serve as a sort of a shrine to the goddess (hence the name "Xochiquetzal Florist's"). The business proved to be very successful, as was Carmen and Juan's personal life – their love being strong and passionate, the happy couple soon had five children of varying ages and genders. Recently, Tropica returned to superheroics alongside her ex-teammates, as a member of Supermoms. ''Appearances: Supermoms ##1-4, Star-Striker #1, Star-Striker #4 (mentioned), Diva #2, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3, Holiday Special #1.'' Powers Tropica can rapidly grow any kinds of plants out of soil. If there's no access to soil, her powers don't work. She completely controls the speed and direction of their growth. She can also modify the plants in various different ways: e.g., changing their size, proportions, toughness, various other attributes. Tropica has a very deep knowledge of plants. She doesn't just control generic vines of varying sizes; she diversifies her attacks by using all kinds of really existing plants (including weird and obscure ones). Most often, she summons a specific plant by shouting its Latin name, and then "upgrades" it to enhance its properties. This makes Tropica's powerset unique and distances her from most plant-controlling superheroes. One of the downsets to Tropica's immense powers is the need to "recharge" them every full moon by bathing in the holy waters of a sacred pool in the Temple of Xochiquetzal. Costume The Champion of Xochiquetzal costume bestowed on Tropica by Xochiquetzal consists of an Olmec green-and-purple headgear that resembles a lucha mask... and nothing else. As a teenager, she wore a rather conservative green sports leotard with it. After returning to superheroics in a mature age, Tropica decided to spice things up a bit, creating a new costume directly out of summoned plants. This new costume is very provocative and barely leaves anything to imagination, all in line with her newfound hobby of teasing men. Since she controls the plants, Tropica can modify the exact size and placement of this "costume"'s elements, but usually it consists of vines snaking up her leg(s) and arm(s), and leaves or flowers covering the naughty bits. Personality Carmen has a fiery temper, always full of energy and passion in every aspect of her life: her family, her job, her superhero career. Carmen may be a bit too impulsive at times, prone to spur-of-the-moment intuitive decisions and rapidly changing mood swings. She never shies away from telling other people what she feels about this or that, which is the main reason Carmen often gets into tempestous arguments with her equally hot-tempered husband Juan. But Carmen is not the one to hold a grudge; as quickly as she gets angry, she forgets all about it, and becomes again her cheerful, energetic self. Carmen is a sexy woman and she knows it. Her favorite hobby is using her sex appeal to mercilessly tease every man nearby; and it's not some light subliminal flirting – Carmen is usually pretty blunt and aggressive about it, preferring to fire all of her "heavy artillery" at once. However, this doesn't mean any attraction towards those men – she treats it like a sport or a joke, doing it mainly for amusement and to watch men blush and squirm. The only man she loves is Juan, and their love is as fiery and passionate as their tempers (with 5 kids of different ages an ironclad proof of this). But God help Juan if he even dares look at another woman!.. As a teenager, Carmen's personality was a bit different. She was as energetic and mischievous as nowadays, but back then it resulted in her being the team clown and prankster. She was interested in boys, but not in looking pretty or charming them, preferring to act like a hyperactive brat. Family "Mami" Bazaldua Carmen's mother. Full name as of yet unknown. Age: 52 years old. As fiery and spicy as her famous daughter, "Mami" can give a lot of younger women a run for their money. If there is a Supermoms character that can be called a "GMILF", it's "Mami". Her age and experience have given her a lot of womanly wisdom, her advice often proving invaluable for Carmen and her daughters. Juan Maria Santos Delacruz Carmen's husband. Age: 35 years old. As passionate and temperamental as his wife, Juan is the only man in her heart. He is as stubborn and assertive as Carmen, which usually means that in case of a disagreement, neither of them would compromise their position. This inevitably leads to frequent heated arguments between Carmen and Juan, that are are well-known (and well-heard) throughout their whole neighborhood. However, there's no grudge or pettiness in these debates, and their result is usually predictable – they end in kisses, embraces, and sometimes more... Juan has always been quite popular with the ladies, and even after getting a beer belly and a bit of male pattern baldness, he didn't lose his charm. Unlike his wife, he never actively flirts with the opposite sex – yet this doesn't stop Carmen from becoming instantly jealous the second she sees Juan interacting with a woman. Juan can be jealous of his wife, though not to the level Carmen can be. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3, Holiday Special (mentioned).'' Maria Delacruz Carmen and Juan's daughter. Age: 14 years old. Maria is an athletic girl who loves soccer, and a captain of the Sapphire City Magnet School's soccer team. Not much is known as of yet about her personality. She's a tomboy – but compared to young Mend, who was carefree and a bit aggressive, Maria is more level-headed and responsible. She's determined to become a professional soccer player in a couple of years. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3.'' Yolanda Delacruz Carmen and Juan's daughter. Age: 12 years old. Unlike her mother and grandmother, Yolanda is very shy and timid, especially around boys – or, as her brother Carlos would say, a wallflower. She's the only member of her family to know about Carmen's secret superpowers, and even shows an uncanny affinity for plants of her own (most likely due to being conceived during a rowdy night shift in the shop – and thus, in close proximity to Xochiquetzal's temple). She covers up for her mother when she needs to go superheroing, and in general, frequently helps her out in the shop. Recently, she also started showing a knack for finances, taking care of most of the shop's book-keeping. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Star-Striker #1 (mentioned), Tropica ##1-2, Short #3.'' Anna Delacruz Carmen and Juan's daughter. Age: 11 years old. She is cheerful, spunky and full of energy – but not an airhead. This adorable brat knows when to use her cuteness or make an innocent face to get what she wants. The three Delacruz sisters are good friends to each other and often act together and cover each other's backs, despite not having a lot in common. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3.'' Carlos Delacruz Carmen and Juan's son. Age: 9 years old. Loves mischief and making horrible puns. Little is known as of yet about him. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3.'' Miguel Delacruz Carmen and Juan's son. Age: 7 years old. Little is known as of yet about him. ''Appearances: Supermoms #1, Tropica ##1-2, Short #3.'' Xochiquetzal The ancient goddess that gives Tropica her powers. Despite her immense power and divine status, Tropica is known to be able to argue with her and even convince her to change opinions in certain occasions. The goddess surprisingly tolerates such behavior from her Champion – but only from her. ''Appearances: Tropica #2.'' Gallery Tropica01x.jpg|Original pic, with Buzz Edison tropica08.png|''Artist: JMD.'' Using her plant powers tropica02l.png|''Artist: LiefeldianAbomination'' comic_tz01.png|''Artist: LiefeldianAbomination.'' Stopping a robbery tropica01l.png|''Artist: LeftHandBlack'' tropica02.jpg tropicateen01.png|''Artist: LiefeldianAbomination.'' Teenage Tropica yolanda01.jpg|Maria Delacruz, Yolanda Delacruz, Anna Delacruz Links *Pictures of Tropica in her canon costume *Pictures of Carmen Delacruz in civilian clothes *Full Tropica gallery (with variant costumes, etc.) *Tropica's family members gallery Category:Characters Category:Hero Category:Female